By Kim McDarison
The Whitewater Common Council Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution authorizing city staff to apply for a Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) grant to help fund restoration work within the city’s Effigy Mounds Preserve.
In a memo to council, Whitewater Director of Parks and Recreation Eric Boettcher noted that the matching grant for which the city will apply comes through the WEDC “Vibrant Spaces” program, which provides grant opportunities ranging from $25,000 to $50,000 to help communities “develop and enhance public spaces.”
The program is part of the WEDC’s Community Development Investment program, according to the resolution.
A dollar-for-dollar match is a stipulation of the grant, Boettcher wrote.
Would the city receive grant funding, monies would be used to restore the mound preserve trail and enhance the park’s entrance, which, Boettcher, wrote, could “draw more people to this preserve and park area.”
Within his memo, Boettcher asked council to earmark $25,000 from the city’s “2022 reserve fund,” with those monies used to fulfill the matching-funds requirement of the grant. The city would plan to apply for a $25,000 grant from the WEDC, he wrote.
According to the city’s website, the preserve, 288 S. Indian Mound Parkway, offers “one of the largest collections of effigy mounds in the country,” with at least 12 mounds, built between 800 and 1200 A.D., located within the park. Mounds range is size from 60 to 300 feet, and are thought to be the work of “several Midwestern Native American tribes,” the website states. The preserve and its maintenance plan were created in 2011.
Addressing council Tuesday, Boettcher said: “We’ve been working on cleaning up the mounds over the last couple years. As part of this, we would ask for $25,000 to continue those improvements and look to get a matching grant of $25,000 through the Vibrant Spaces grant in order to catch up on maintenance for the park reserve and the entry area of the park.”
Councilwoman Jill Gerber asked if other projects besides the effigy mounds preserve and park had been considered as candidates for Vibrant Spaces grant funding. She referenced a discussion, which, she said, she thought she might have read in a committee meeting’s minutes.
Boettcher said only the effigy mound preserve and park projects had been considered.
“So basically it’s for the park area and in front of the effigy mounds, to make more of a welcome center, and then that will lead into the actual mounds preserve,” he said.
Gerber asked: “Was there a grant, or maybe I’m messing them up, about discussion about the downtown space — adding features to the downtown picnic table area?”
Boettcher said he was unaware of that grant.
City Manager John Weidl, addressing Gerber, said: “If what you’re asking is could we conceivably use the Vibrant Spaces grant in consideration for that use, I think the answer is ‘yes.’”
Said Gerber: “I’m just wondering, I thought I saw in the minutes or some kind of discussion about, where maybe it was a Polco vote, about using — updating the downtown space — like to shade it, for lights, I’m not really sure.”
Weidl noted that Gerber was likely referring to a Polco question.
Gerber continued “So I’m just wondering, he (Boettcher) said nothing else was considered. I’m wondering — so nothing else was considered for this grant besides the effigy mounds?”
Boettcher said that was correct.
Councilwoman Lisa Dawsey Smith stated: “And part of that is because there is a match requirement on the part of the municipality.”
Said Weidl: “And we have that funding allocated in the approved budget. So the $25,000 in the approved budget lines up with the … certainly not withstanding that — if you guys want us to consider another project or make sure that our next application considers a range of projects, we can do all of that.”
Gerber said that she would have preferred to see more than one project brought forward for consideration.
“Going forward, I would like to see more come forward than one,” she said.
“This project’s been kicked down the road too many times. I think we need to bring it up to speed. It’s an important project. The more I hear about it, or read about it, the more education you get out of it. It’s quite a feature that really needs to be showcased,” Councilwoman Carol McCormick said.
About Polco
Polco, according to the platform’s website, “is an online engagement tool designed to receive ongoing and reliable feedback from verified members of a community.”
According to the city’s website, the city offers the tool to “enhance the capabilities beyond public meetings and traditional forms of communication.” Polco questions can be submitted by email to the city’s public relations and communications manager, the website states.
Whitewater Director of Parks and Recreation Eric Boettcher, at right, addresses the Whitewater Common Council Tuesday. Boettcher asked council to approve a resolution allowing city staff to apply for a matching grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. Would the city receive the grant funding, monies would be used to make restorations within the city’s effigy mounds preservation and park. Screen shot photo.
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